Transillumination entails shining of a light through a body cavity or organ for diagnostic purposes. Typically, transillumination is performed in a room where the lights have been dimmed or turned off to facilitate the viewing of the part being studied. A bright light is pointed at the cavity or organ and due to the slight translucence of the part under consideration, some of the light passes through the part or organ. This test is often performed on newborns or infants with hydrocephalus or males suspected of having hydrocele. In addition, for tests performed on breast tissue to detect lesions and/or cysts. In newborns, the test is used to transilluminate the chest cavity if pneumothorax is suspected. Only in newborns is transillumination of the chest possible. Transillumination is painless and quickly performed with inexpensive equipment.
Classic mode of transillumination shines light in order to see internal details of the object. Another form of transillumination is side transillumination. In side transillumination, light shines from the side of the object to form a virtual light source below the skin. The light source moves with the device and allows transillumination of any part of the body up to a depth of about 6 mm. The side transillumination method is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,146,923.
It is beneficial to shield the area viewed during transillumination from ambient light. U.S. Pat. No. 6,668,187 (Porath) discloses a transillumination mammography device having a pair of light shields positioned to shield detectors from ambient light.
It is an object of the invention to provide a dome shaped light shield for a transillumination device.
It is another object of the invention to provide a transilluminator providing imaging regardless of ambient light.
It is yet another object of the invention to provide a light shield for a transilluminator that is removable.
It is another object of the invention to provide a light shield for a transilluminator that is inexpensive to manufacture and easy to install on an existing transilluminator.
These and other objects of the invention will become apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art after reading the disclosure of the invention.